Premium
Sebastian Rodrigues in Shusaku Endo's Silence as a Theologian of the Cross 1
Author(s) -
Takamura Toshihiro
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
dialog
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.114
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1540-6385
pISSN - 0012-2033
DOI - 10.1111/dial.12292
Subject(s) - silence , theology , character (mathematics) , faith , philosophy , articulation (sociology) , offensive , law , politics , geometry , mathematics , management , political science , economics , aesthetics
In his book, On Being a Theologian of the Cross , Gerhard Forde asserts, “[T]he theology of the cross is an offensive theology. The offense consists in the fact that unlike other theologies it attacks what we usually consider the best in our religion.” If causing an offense against Christian theologians and the populace in general is considered a criterion for this theology, Shusaku Endo surely sets forth the theology of the cross in his novel, Silence . Although he would not identify his thesis by such a term, Endo presents the theology of the cross challenging the conventional understanding of the Christian faith. This short article explores Endo's book, Silence , examines how it demonstrates an articulation of the theology of the cross, and argues that Sebastian Rodrigues, the main character of the novel, is a theologian of the cross.